Message bank on home phone with NBN

[vk2ce]

The problem of a stuttering dial tone and new voicemail notification has been around since 2016 and it still hasn't been solved as I have the same problem having been connected only last week. I can remove the dial tone and notification by rebooting the modem but eventually it all comes back even though noone has left a message. Is this issue going to be fixed or do I have to cancel message bank and miss important messages?

[RyanH]

Hey vk2ce, thank you for your post.

I am sorry to hear of this disruption from your dail tone and this notification. Give our team a call on 13 22 00 and we will have this cleared up for you.

Thank you.
- Ryan

[vk2ce · Accepted solution]

Hello Ryan,

I went through the Live Chat process a couple of days ago. It was fixed for all of 15 minutes and then the stutter tone and notification came back. I think I may have solved the problem my self. This morning I invoked option 4 and had notifications sent to my mobile. Since that was activated the "New Voicemail" notification on my land line and the stutter tone have disappeared. I rang my home phone twice and left 2 messages which were notifiedd on my mobile. The home phone showed nothing nor did it have a stutter tone but when I dialled 101 there were 2 messages there that I had sent. Go figure that one out. I realise this problem has been caused by the change in the NBN installation policy and you guys must have a real problem sorting it out. As I said in my post this issue has been around since 2016 according to the forums. Thanks for getting back to me.

[RyanH]

Ok I understand. Glad to hear you were able to organise a workaround for this yourself, I apologise chat were not able to assist. If you ever have any questions feel free to reach out to us here any time.

Thank you.
- Ryan

[Denshi]

My new internet "landline" setup has been connected to a new Telsta NBN modem for some weeks.
The necessary replacement walkabout phones work well. I have Telstra Message Bank service. Over the past couple of weeks each hand set is showing a continual flashing light and message icon indicating an unread Message Bank message. A stuttering dial tone also exists. This indication keeps occurring despite no unread messages on Message Bank. I can clear it using the internal "Global Reset" facility in the handset but the flashing indication returns after about five minutes - very annoying.
I have raised this issue with my phone manufacturer. They have confirmed no fault with the hand sets. They have however stressed that the problem lies with Telstra. It seems that some form of "signal" is being generated by the Telstra system and being transmitted down the internet line involving the land line service. On searching the internet, this "glitch" problem seems to be widespread.
It is about time Telstra addressed this situation to stop the annoying occurrence of this signal.

[Shellock]

Hi Denshi,

If you have dialled 101 to set up your Message Bank and to clear any waiting messages, then this I would suggest restoring the modem to factory default settings before reconnecting and pairing your telephone handsets again. 

[Denshi]

Thanks Shellock. I am not too keen to go playing around with modem reset. Our other services including in/out calls via the modem work fine.

I have set up my Message Bank to text my mobile phone when a new message is received.

Today I tested this set up which worked fine. After hearing my test message on Message Bank via my mobile phone I deleted the message via phone button "5" and the blinking light and message icon disappeared simultaneously. The light on the telephone handset remains steady and standard dial tone has returned.

I hope that the problem has now been corrected by taking these steps but who knows for how long!!

[Denshi]

My so called "solution" to the blinking light and stuttering dial tone gave me about a 6 hours reprieve!
It seems that by setting up Message Bank to text my mobile and then deleting the message through the "5" button is not a solution.
I am at a loss how to fix this and I wish to retain Message Bank. It is obvious that this problem is generated through a Telstra service so it is up to Telstra to seriously look at this and resolve the issue once and for all.

[Denshi]

Hi Shellock,
My process of having Message Bank send a text to my mobile and then deleting the message via button "5" gave me some reprieve but the problem has reoccurred. This problem is obviously caused by a Telstra service (ie Message Bank) and I ask that Telstra does something positive to rectify the problem once and for all.

[vk2ce]

If you read my post above you can see  that I solved my issue but sending notifications to my mobile. However, when the test notification came up on my mobile I still used the landline to read the test messages. There's a glitch in there somewhere and Telstra have yet to find it as it has been going on for around 3 years now ever since NBN came along. My home phone has been fine since I configured the notifcations to my mobile so try doing the same and read you messages via the land line and see how it goes.

[Denshi]

OK thanks - I will look at listening to  the message on the landline after receiving the mobile text prompt

[Denshi]

Have done as you have suggested and seems to have fixed the problem!
No more flashing light and stuttering dial tone.
Thanks a lot for your assistance. It is a shame that we as consumers have to resolve our issues!

[vk2ce]

That's good news Denshi. I hope it stays that way for you. The problem is very annoying as you don't know if you have messages or not. I really am amazed that Telstra hasn't found a solution in 3 years as it seems to affect anyone who is now on the NBN, not just Testra customers.

[Denshi]

I am on a new mission concerning annoying erratic NBN connection and lousy download speed when compared to contract speed. I wont be "hanging by my thumbs" waiting for a resolution.

[vk2ce]

I suspect those problems are directly related to the condition, age and length of the copper wire from the node to your house. My subdivision is only 14 years old and the copper is still in good condition as I am getting speeds up to 48Mbs most of the time so their next step will be to replace the old copper wire and that's not going to happen tomorrow.

[Denshi]

Went on to NBN about two months ago. Service was initially good but has declined over the past few weeks. NBN set up is HFC.
Pre NBN I had high speed cable which worked very well. That service had been around for a long time.
My existing cable is about 13 metres from the house to the footpath connection pit and is located underground in conduit. NBN replaced the cable from above ground into the house. I suspect that a lot of NBN customers are being connected in our area due to an August 2019 shut down of the old system. Maybe the problem is insufficient band width to handle the load. "Congestion" seems to be one of the zip words at the moment!

[DeborahB]

I am having this exact problem also, but I don't have a Telstra mobile to direct the notifications to so I can't solve it in this way. I have tried calling support but the person reset and tested my modem and told me the problem must be with my handset as I am still able to make calls. It is clearly not with the handset - it is a signal coming from the phone connection. 

Can anyone help? Not keen on another long service phone call for nothing.